Taemin: Age 9; Eunsook: Age 12, Taesun: Age 13

Taemin wakes up in the middle of the night on the floor of the living room. The movie the three of them had been watching is long over, Taemin can't remember when he fell asleep. Someone has tucked him in and the TV has been turned off, leaving the room dark. Taesun is asleep on the farthest futon away from him, but Eunsook is missing from the one next to his.

He sees that the light is on in the kitchen and when he hears a soft noise, he gets up to investigate.

He's about to enter the kitchen when he sees Eunsook crying in his mother’s arms. "I'm sorry, Imo. I-I"

Taemin stops and stands just out of sight past the doorframe.

“Shhh shhh, it’s okay, sweetie. You don't have to apologize. I called your Umma. She’ll be here in a minute.”

Eunsook’s wearing a pair of Taesun’s basketball shorts, which dwarf over her knobbly knees and she holds a plastic bag, the contents unknown.

There is a knock on the front door a minute later. Taemin’s mother pulls a sniffling Eunsook quickly towards her with her hand on Eunsook's head, saying more reassuring words before they walk towards the door.

Eunsook's mother greets her with a hug and the three of them chat at the front door for a few minutes.

"Eunsook, are you sure—?" Eunsook's mother asks, her hand on Eunsook's back.

Eunsook nods, sniffling still. "Please, Umma. I just want to go home."

Eunsook's mother nods and gives a slight wave to Taemin's mother, mouthing "I'll call you tomorrow" as they turn to leave. Taemin's mother nods, returning the wave.

Taemin tiptoes back to his futon and sneaks back under the blanket. His mother starts the washing machine and sees that he is awake on her way back to his parents' bedroom.

“Eunsook had to go, she wasn’t feeling well. You can see her tomorrow.” Taemin’s mother says simply, tucking them both in again with kisses to their cheeks.

Eunsook sometimes says “no” now when Taemin and Taesun ask her to sleep over. Taemin is too young to understand why.[1]

Tonight is Movie Night, a long-standing tradition between the three children. Taemin, Taesun, and Eunsook laugh, smiling, each wearing oversized t-shirts and shorts. They jump up and down on the futons set up on the floor of the living room. They pretend to be in a rock band, using various objects for microphones as they sing loudly and play air guitars.

“Say cheese!” Taemin’s father says.

“Cheese!” The children stop moving long enough for him to take a photo. A microsecond after the picture is taken, one of them falls down from being too dizzy.

All three of the children then try to outdo each other on who can fall down the best. This entertains them for a good hour before Taemin’s dad decides to stop them fearing they'll get concussions.

“Slumber Party”

[1] I personally don’t believe having your period should prevent you from having a life, but she's not comfortable.

I made Taemin's and Eunsook's mothers super understanding because that's the way I think it should be. So many girls are taught to be ashamed of a normal bodily function.

OnTae are really only like 3.5 years apart in real life, so it's my choice to portray it as three years. If you are a stickler, just imagine all these stories take place between July 18 and December 14 when they are only three years apart. (^_^ see what I did there? xoxo)